3. FINDING FAULTS
• A man who is pride about his virtues and blessing is the worst
person. He has the worst faults of all, least perceptive, ignorant
and weak minded.
• A wise man finds his own fault, fights against them and tries to
overcome it. A fool ignores his faults because of lack of
knowledge, feeble thoughts and considers them as good
qualities.
• No one is free from faults except the Prophets. We should not be
proud of our good works. We should remember our times of
rebellion/our faults in our life in all aspects. If we do so, we
realize that our faults will outnumber our good deeds.
4. • Speaking of others faults is a shameful act. One should point others
faults only in case of advising him in person. He should not expose the
faults of others to but point out his faults to that concerned person.
• We should never compare ourselves who has more faults than us because
it makes us find easy to commit faults and to imitate wicked people.
• We should compare ourselves with someone who is more virtuous than
us. This will make us to do more good deeds by having them as an
example or role model and our pride will fade away.
• The Almighty says,
“To condone an evil is to commit the same evil” (42:20)
“The reward of an evil is an evil like it”
“The reward of a good is a good like it”
5.
6. KNOWLEDGE
• Knowledge is a pure gift from God. If someone is proud of his
knowledge, it is of no credit to him and it will anger the
Almighty. If an illness strikes a person, it will cause him to face
in disdain and makes him forget about his knowledge.
• There are people who are greedy for knowledge but do not reap
any benefit from it. A scholar should realize that it is enough to
pursue knowledge and many people are knowledgable than him.
A knowledgable person has no pride. He must be humble,
thankful to God and beg him to increase his gifts and not to
withhold them.
• A knowledge not put into practice is vain. It will be a testimony
against him that it makes him feel it could have been better to
remain an ignorant person.
7.
8. COURAGE, WEALTH AND BEAUTY
• A person who is proud of courage should realize there are many
who are more courageous and stronger than him.
• If we use our courage in rebellion against God, then we are
fools losing our soul by committing valueless acts. We should
keep in mind that our courage will go away as we grow old and
we will become dependent.
• Taking pride in beauty is also a stupid thing and puts you to
shame. Beauty is also temporary that fades with age.
9.
10. • To take pride of one’s wealth is the worst and a stupid thing.
Wealth is a temporary asset. It will flee at any time and can be
anyone’s hand. To put our trust in wealth is a trap and weakness.
We should spend our wealth for a good cause. This will increase
our good deeds and many people will be benefited from it.
• Pretending to be poor has no benefit. It makes a person misery
and fail to recognize their gifts from God.
• Displaying and showing off ones wealth will make others
jealous and covetous about what one has possessed.
• We must be content and be grateful to the Almighty, confine our
needs only to him.
11.
12. • If the praises of friends makes one proud, think of the criticism
laid on by enemies. Then our pride will melt away. A person
having no enemies is not a good person. It is a mistake to think
that our faults are hidden from others. We should reflect on our
image (character) with ourselves and in the society.
• A wise man do not neglect the duties imposed on him. He will
make use of all good opportunities available to him. But a fool
takes pride in his accomplishments, mentally deficient and
thinks he possess highest quality even if it’s not the truth. The
cure for pride among such people are poverty and obscurity.
• Avoid boasting about your virtues because people won’t believe
it and will criticize you. Do not be a flatterer to praise someone
to their face.
13. FRIENDS AND ENEMIES
• The inability to distinguish one’s enemy from a friend is a height of
stupidity and weakness. Anyone who treats his enemy equal to friend
will only earn the disrespect of enemy, lose his true friends and will be
lost.
• Oppressing a friend is a worst evil. Keeping a friend away would be the
action of a man without spirit and destination for misfortune. A man
undergoes many trials in his life. But the worst is inflicted by his fellow
men.
• Magnanimity is not mingling with enemies but showing mercy to them
while still not trusting them.
• An over suspicious mind learns to tell lies and own tongue will be a
witness against him. The people who speaks out shameful acts are the
ones who commit them. Nobody abuses them more than they abuse
themselves.
14. • Virtue is the medium between the two extremes- the “too much”
and the “too little”.
Virtue is lovely but difficult, and vice as awful but easy to
commit.
• Anyone who wants to find virtue should rely on the
commandments of God and His prophets. All the virtues are
contained in these commandments.
• All our virtues and goodness are gift from God and not acquired
by ourselves. Even the most admirable characters can be altered
by illness, poverty, fear, anger or the decrepitude of old age. So
we should not be proud of our virtues, use them in more noble
way. We must be grateful to God, show compassion to those
who lacks such gifts.
